Flying High, on Empty

Dance a little faster
Sing a little louder
Prance around this town
Live it up
Take this life
It's yours to live
Start it now
Before it's over
Be dangerous
Safety is for the meek
Who wants this crappy place?
Let's end it with a bang
Be remembered for our smiles
Help out when we can
But always enjoy life
Don't be beat down
Even as we're broken
Show them a good time
Freedom may come at a price
Nothing is for free
So shekel out the best
Always the best
Go for your dreams
Soar
Even with broken wings

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”